Tag Archives: Mandy Ross

Thank goodness for grandparents! They have a thing or two to tell you.

Christopher’s Grannie tells him stories the way they did in Dominica when she was a little girl. Here she introduces him to the mysterious Ti Bolom. Who or what is he? Did the young Grannie imagine Ti Bolom, or is he real? Or perhaps she made him up?

Christopher isn’t sure. But it’s certainly a very exciting story, hearing how his Grannie tried not to be scared, when she brought food for Ma Constance, and how Ti Bolom was so very close…

Look Back! is a lovely story by Trish Cooke, with fantastic ‘Amazing Grace’ style illustrations by Caroline Binch. You feel as though you were there. And you could almost see Ti Bolom.

Maybe.

Then we have Dominic in the mega-colourful Dominic Grows Sweetcorn by Mandy Ross and Alison Bartlett. His Grandad reminisces about the food he was used to in Jamaica. It was so much better!

He has retired and decides to grow food again, and asks Dominic to help him with his sweetcorn. They might not be able to grow coffee in Britain, or limes or mangoes, but sweetcorn should be possible.

They dig and they sow. And they talk. Dominic learns about what they grew in Jamaica, and how they traded with each other. And as the sweetcorn grows, we learn how Grandad met Grandma Dora, who was a very pretty girl.

Dominic finds out what it was like when his grandparents came to England. The cold. The hard work. How they had planned to return, but never did.

This is 20th century history with a personal twist. And you can trade food in the UK, too. You can even make the sweetcorn fritters, because the recipe comes with the book.

We should have more of this. It was actually both fun and enjoyable. Unless that’s the same thing? Last night’s replacement for Eurovision was far better than the real deal. I’d thought it would be, but it was good to … Continue reading →